CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION 1

Guidelines and Rubric

COMPETITOR INFORMATION

Purpose To encourage LPSCS students to improve their ability to properly secure, search,
diagram, photograph,and document a crime scene.

Description Students will identify, secure, and process a mock crime scene. The event will be timed
and evaluated according to event guidelines.

Dress Code Competitors shall wear a uniform consistent with current standards in law
enforcement patrol. The student shall not wear a duty belt throughout the duration of
this event.

Maximum Teams 1

Competitors Per 3
Team

Event Rules – Competitors in this event must be active members of the Texas Public Service
Association and in good standing with the Texas Public Service Association.
– Competitors must be familiar with and adhere to the Texas Public Service
Association Bylaws and Code of Conduct.
– Plagiarism, copyright violation and falsification of information are prohibited. Any
attempt to gain an unfair advantage will not be tolerated. Violation of the code of
conduct or bylaws will result in disqualification and revocation of Texas Public
Service Association membership.
– The scenario is a secret topic. Professional ethics demand that competitors DO
NOT discuss or reveal the secret topic until after the event has concluded.
Violation of the ethics rules will result in disqualification and revocation of Texas
Public Service Association membership.
– Instructions: Two (2) minutes
– First Responding Officer Interview: five (5) minutes
– Crime Scene Processing: Thirty (30) minutes
– Total Event Time: Thirty-Seven (37) minutes

Event Procedures 1. Competitor(s)/Team(s) will report to their respective event when called for or at a
set reporting time.
2. Competitor(s)/Team(s) must check in with event management upon arrival and
present photo identification for verification.
3. Competitor(s)/Team(s) will be directed (by room moderator) into the event room.
4. Instructions will be given (by room moderator) to the Competitor(s)/Team(s).
5. The room moderator shall provide instructions to the team.
6. When the moderator starts the timer and calls “start”, each team will:

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Guidelines and Rubric

a. Interview the first responding officer and take appropriate field notes.
i. Competitors do not have to utilize the entire 5 minutes and may
state that they are finished at any time prior to the call of time.
The remaining time shall not be added to the Crime Scene
Processing portion of the competition.
ii. To provide a consistent and equal opportunity for all
competitors, each team shall utilize the same simulated crime
scene and shall receive the same crime scene information from
the first responding officer when questioned.Teams who ask
detailed, thorough questions will receive more specific
information than those who do not.
7. The moderator will call “time” when the 5 minute timer sounds.
8. The room moderator will set a timer for 30 minutes.
9. When the room moderator starts the timer and calls “start”, each team will:
a. Process the crime scene
b. Process 1 predetermined item of evidence for fingerprint collection
c. Package 1 predetermined item of evidence
d. Release the crime scene
10. The moderator will call “time” when the 30 minute timer sounds. All
competitors must place their hands in the air and back away from their work if
not finished.
a. The judge shall check “DNF” on the scoring rubric if a team has not
released the crime scene at the call of “time”.
b. Competitors who receive a “DNF” shall be scored on an “as is” basis.

Competitor ▢ Photo Identification (​ See ​Policies f​ or more information)

Supplies ▢ All necessary supplies to process a fingerprint and a crime scene. Fingerprints may
only be processed using non-magnetic black powder. The competitors are
responsible for providing their own fingerprint backing cards and crime scene
documentation forms.

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Guidelines and Rubric

EVENT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

Event Personnel ▢ Event Manager:​ Manages the competitors, makes sure the event is running on
time, i.e. runs the event outside the “room”.
▢ Room Moderator:​ Provides quality assurance for the event by ensuring that the
guidelines are followed, all event documents are complete, and is the timekeeper if
applicable. The room moderator operates inside the event room during the
competition.
▢ 1x Judges:​ Judges the competition
▢ 1x Actor(s):​ Will simulate needed scenarios accurately portraying real life events.
The actor in this event will play the role of the first responding officer. The actor
will be provided a detailed description of the crime scene to utilize throughout the
interview process.

Event Facilities SECTION 1

▢ A classroom or flex area large enough to accomodate a three person team, a
judge, moderator, a fingerprinting table, and a crime scene. This area should be
secluded and not visible to anyone other than those directly involved in the
event.

Event Equipment SECTION 1

▢ Mock Crime Scene
▢ Item to be packaged by competitors ( # of teams = # of items needed. Provide
enough of the same type of item so that unpackaging does not have to be
completed between teams. Example: The packaged item is a wine glass. 10 teams
= 10 individual wine glasses)
▢ Item to be fingerprinted by competitors (# of teams = # of items needed. Provide
enough of the same type of item so that no two teams lift a print from the same
item. Example: The fingerprinted item is a CD. 10 teams = 10 individual CD’s)

Event Materials ▢ Manilla envelope labeled with:

❏ Team Name
❏ Individual Team Members Names

Scoring 1. The moderator shall provide all of the documents,and fingerprint backing card
from the event for each team to the judge for scoring in a manilla envelope
labeled with the competitors name. In addition, the evidentiary item that has
been packaged shall be submitted to the judge for scoring.
a. The moderator shall ensure that each document has the competitors
name clearly documented.

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Guidelines and Rubric

b. The moderator shall ensure that each rubric is included inside the
manilla envelope.
2. Upon receipt of the competitors envelope the judge shall score all documents
and items and provide a final score on the rubric.
3. The moderator shall review the judges c ​ alculations only​ to ensure accuracy.
4. All rubrics shall be placed in score order with the highest score on top and
lowest score on bottom.
5. Competitors who earned a did not finish (DNF) shall be placed underneath the
lowest scoring competitor.
6. Ties s​ hall not​ be allowed. It is up to the judge to break any tie that occurs
between competitors regardless of the overall standing of the contestant (ex. A
tie for 13th place must be broken in the same fashion a tie for 1st place would
be broken). A tie may not be broken based on time taken to complete the event.
7. Rubrics and envelopes shall be submitted to the scoring room for final checks
and submission.
8. The judge and moderator must be present for the entirety of score verification
with the calculation room.

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Guidelines and Rubric

SCORING INFORMATION

LOWEST HIGHEST
CRITERIA POINTS POINTS

FIRST RESPONDING OFFICER INTERVIEW

TEAM MEMBERS QUESTION THE FIRST RESPONDING OFFICER 0 5

TEAM ENSURES THAT THE SEARCH IS LEGAL 0 1

TEAM ENSURES ANCILLARY AGENCIES HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED (MEDICAL 0 1

EXAMINER, EMS, ETC.)

TEAM REQUEST ANCILLARY AGENCY RESPONSE (IF APPLICABLE) 0 1

SECURING THE CRIME SCENE

ENTRY/ EXIT LOG CREATED/ESTABLISHED 0 1

CRIME SCENE BOUNDARIES ARE CLEARLY/ PROPERLY ESTABLISHED 0 1

CRIME SCENE SEARCH

PRELIMINARY SEARCH CONDUCTED WITHOUT DISRUPTION OF 0 1

EVIDENCE/SCENE

SEARCH PATTERN DETERMINED AND JUDGE NOTIFIED OF SELECTION 0 1

THOROUGH SEARCH CONDUCTED: ALL PERTINENT EVIDENCE FOUND, 0 5

FLAGGED, AND DOCUMENTED BY TEAM

EVIDENCE LOG CREATED/COMPLETED 0 1

CRIME SCENE DOCUMENTATION-SKETCH

CRIME SCENE SKETCH IS LEGIBLE 0 1

ROOM/AREA MEASUREMENTS ARE PROPERLY TAKEN AND RECORDED 0 1

EVIDENTIARY ITEMS ARE PLACED IN SKETCH WITH NECESSARY 0 1

MEASUREMENTS

COMPASS DIRECTION (N) IDENTIFIED ON SKETCH 0 1

FIXED REFERENCE POINTS ARE NOTED 0 1

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Guidelines and Rubric

LEGEND 0 1

PERTINENT AGENCY/ CASE INFORMATION NOTATED ON SKETCH 0 1

CRIME SCENE DOCUMENTATION- PHOTOGRAPHY

COMPLETED PHOTO LOG WITH PERTINENT AGENCY/CASE INFORMATION

NOTATED 0 1

1 EXTERIOR PHOTOGRAPH OF CRIME SCENE ENTRANCE WITH CASE #

PLACARD 0 1

1-4 INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWING THE ENTIRE CRIME SCENE W/OVERLAP 0 1

1 MID RANGE PHOTOGRAPH OF EVIDENCE ITEM TO BE COLLECTED 0 1

1 CLOSE UP PHOTOGRAPH OF EVIDENCE ITEM TO BE COLLECTED W/MARKER

AND W/O SCALE 0 1

1 CLOSE UP PHOTOGRAPH OF EVIDENCE ITEM TO BE COLLECTED W/SCALE 0 1

1 PHOTOGRAPH OF FINGERPRINT EVIDENCE PRIOR TO ENHANCEMENT 0 1

1 PHOTOGRAPH OF FINGERPRINT EVIDENCE AFTER ENHANCEMENT 0 1

PHOTOGRAPHS DEPICT CRIME SCENE AND EVIDENCE AS IT APPEARED UPON

ARRIVAL OF INVESTIGATORS (NO EVIDENCE MOVED PRIOR TO PHOTOGRAPHS) 0 1

LATENT PRINT COLLECTION

NON-MAGNETIC BLACK POWDER USED DQ 1

PROPER FINGERPRINT DUSTING TECHNIQUE DEMONSTRATED 0 1

PROPER FINGERPRINT TAPE LIFTING TECHNIQUE DEMONSTRATED 0 1

FINGERPRINT BACKING CARD COMPLETELY FILLED OUT AND FINGERPRINT

AFFIXED 0 1

FINGERPRINT IS USEABLE AND READABLE (FREE OF SMUDGES, AIR BUBBLES) 0 1

EVIDENCE COLLECTION AND PACKAGING

EVIDENCE ITEM IS HANDLED CORRECTLY BY COLLECTOR 0 1

COLLECTED EVIDENCE IS PLACED IN PROPER CONTAINER BASED ON SIZE AND

TYPE OF EVIDENCE 0 1

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EVIDENCE CONTAINER IS PROPERLY SEALED AND LABELED (ALL RELEVANT

CASE INFORMATION PROVIDED) 0 1

SAFETY / CONTAMINATION CONTROL

TEAM MEMBERS DONNED PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT (GLOVES) DQ 1

TEAM MEMBERS DONNED NEW GLOVES BETWEEN HANDLING ITEMS OF

EVIDENCE 0 1

EVIDENCE COLLECTION TOOLS PROPERLY CLEANED/ SANITIZED PRIOR TO USE 0 1

ALL INVESTIGATIVE TRASH REMOVED FROM THE CRIME SCENE 0 1

RELEASE OF CRIME SCENE

CRIME SCENE TAPE REMOVED AND DISCARDED 0 1

TEAM MEMBER NOTIFIES JUDGE OF RELEASE OF CRIME SCENE 0 1

2018 - 2019 Official Guidelines

Texas Public Service Association (TPSA)